New Delhi: Having exhausted all legal options, the four persons convicted for the gang rape and murder of a 23-year old physiotherapy intern "Nirbhaya" are to meet their inevitable end on Friday at 5.30 am in Tihar Jail. Their last attempts to escape the gallows failed on Thursday.
Pawan Jallad, a hangman from Meerut, has been assigned the task of hanging the four convicts -- Vinay, Akshay, Pawan and Mukesh.
As per prison rules, the four will march to the scaffold with their hands pinioned behind their back. A cotton cap with a flap is then put on their face just before they enter the gallows. Contrary to a perception created by movies, no food is offered to the convicts or any last wish asked for.
The rule is that the prisoner should not be allowed to see the gallows. He mounts the scaffold and is placed directly under the beam to which the rope is attached. The prisoner is than handed over to the executioner.
The Superintendent gives a signal, on seeing which the executioner pushed the lever to release the trap-door. After the execution, the bodies of the four men will remain suspended for half an hour before being taken down or until the Resident Medical Officer certifies that their "life is extinct".
